


Bugi Hates Conventions

by bunymyun



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Youtuber AU, clueless jonghyun, famous au, gamer jonghyun, this is what he gets for being oblivious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:53:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25547758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunymyun/pseuds/bunymyun
Summary: Jonghyun started gaming just to pass the time. Over the years, he actually started enjoying his time and turned it into a paying job. The only downside was crazy fans and conventions. Good God, conventions were tiring. Especially when the fans start to hit on you and your bodyguard-slash-manager just lets it happen.
Relationships: Hwang Minhyun/Kim Jonghyun | JR
Comments: 9
Kudos: 50





	Bugi Hates Conventions

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first commissioned fic in a really, really long time, and it just happens to have been written for one of my favorite people who just happened to give me the greatest fuel for fluff -- Hey, E!! So this turned out to be a loooot more soft than crack. I hope you still like it though!

On Mondays, he talks about his favorite games of the month. A quick and simple introduction to the games, and what his viewers can look forward to for the rest of the week. It was the easiest day for uploads. He didn’t have to do too much editing, or spend too much time and effort. A great way to start Mondays, if he said so himself. He would upload the video on his route to his university, usually having the video go live by the time he arrived at his first lesson of the day. 

On Tuesdays, he does playthroughs of games for kids.  _ Minecraft, Mario Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing _ . Surprisingly, those videos tend to rack in the numbers and he throws in a few more ads than usual, knowing full well kids will blast through those videos all day. It’s actually pretty relaxing to just play an ‘easier’ game for a few hours a day. Plus the money isn’t that bad, either. 

On Wednesdays, he does Japanese and Korean Otome games. These might actually be his favorites (not that he would ever admit to that), but they’re also the ones that make him the absolute angriest he’s ever been in his life. He can’t, for the life of him, believe girls play this for  _ fun.  _ If he so much as has to listen to Jumin Han call him one more time in the middle of him enjoying a bowl of jjapaguri… well, he’d quit on the spot. Still, he did pick one of the more interesting stories and, if he was being honest, he had grown attached to Jumin’s cat. 

On Thursdays, he would do reviews of the latest games he had been sent by sponsors. At first, his reviews had just been him sitting at his computer yelling about how he had expected more from a game, or how one specific level had been too hard. As months passed, Jonghyun realized that maybe he could get sponsored by the gaming companies and get games sent to him for free if he became a little less agitated, and a bit more critical. It was a learning curve, for him, but a tiny one. The first games he had been sent to review sucked anyway, and he hated playing them, but he did it, and to his surprise, he started getting more and more. 

Fridays were the best. Friday nights to be specific. He would come home from a long day of working at the IT booth on campus, change into a simple anime t-shirt (today was his favorite girl of all time: Hatsune Miko). He would fix his hair a bit, set up his computer desk, make sure he had snacks that were easy to eat, a water bottle or two, and if he needed it, an energy drink. For the next two hours, he would be doing a live stream game tutorial. Sure it sounded like he was just playing a game, but he would show his viewers the best cheat codes, the best ways to avoid enemies, how to hide and set traps in almost any game to ensure victory. His viewers loved streaming nights, too. People sometimes would send him money any time he beat someone within a certain time limit. 

Leaning back into his seat, he made sure he was ready to go for his 9PM stream. He had to learn what times were the best for live streaming, and while that was a long process in and of its own, he’s actually glad he picked 9PM. It just worked out for him to be able to work part time on campus so he could at the very least, make some work friends. 

His roommates have never cared about his gaming addiction, most of them worked at night, or went to sleep around the same time as Jonghyun did. They all looked tired most of the time, but not Jonghyun. He looked, according to Seungwoo, just a little on the side of Asian Timothee Chalamet and puppy. And apparently, that worked for him. He had tons of female fans who adored him and constantly asked for his number on live streams. Jonghyun would always blush a bit and give a shy giggle. Sometimes, and Jonghyun truly had no idea how this happened, he would come home to presents outside of his apartment complex. So far, nothing had happened to his apartment or his roommates, but it still served to scare him a bit. Addressing it once on his live stream seemed to make that come to a full stop, though. Once people found out about that little bit of information, a quick #LeaveJRAlone began to trend and soon enough, the police were at his apartment complex.  As it turned out, his fans had demanded the police department find him and ensure that his apartment complex were to have better security at the gate. It took about a week for there to be a brand new system installed. Jonghyun felt embarrassed, but he also felt a lot more safe. 

It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford to move out, he just didn’t want to leave his roommates hanging on a lease. He loved them a little bit more than he would ever admit. Especially Seungwoo, as annoying as he was on most days. 

  
  


* * *

Jonghyun hated being driven to these gigs by his manager, but what can he say? He can’t drive. It was either this, or risk taking an uber with an extra chatty hipster who thought that being an uber driver was the modern day equivalent of being an entrepreneur. So here he was, in the back of Seungwoo’s rental car (at his insistence that he sit in the back), forced to listen to  _ him _ instead. 

“You’re not even my actual manager, Ong. Why are you here, again?” Jonghyun asked as he picked up his phone to take a selfie and title it ‘ _ Can’t wait to see you all!!’.  _

“Moral support. You didn’t think I’d let you come all the way out here on your own, did you?” He laughed. 

Jonghyun shrugged his shoulders, feigning annoyance, but smiling a bit to himself. 

“I saw that, Bugi.” Seungwoo smirked at him in the rearview mirror. 

***

As usual, these events started weeks in advance, Jonghyun having to sign forms and waivers, sighing every time he had to email the gaming company that was sponsoring his fan-sign for the (in his opinion) dumbest details such as what colors he wanted the table cloth to be, or if he wanted any kind of special effects for his video intro. He had spent hours on a special intro just for the gaming convention in California only for his sponsors to say that it was basically trash. Naturally, Jonghyun resorted to being petty and would send them email after email asking for approval from the sponsors for every last detail, always remembering to sign ‘Ever grateful, bugi-san’. 

As the weeks drew nearer, Jonghyun could feel his life start to spiral a bit, as he hated the idea of actually being in front of a live audience. He streamed to a total of over 1 million people, but that was in the comfort of his own home. It had been about two years since he had moved out and about six months since he graduated with his degree in Computer Science. And about a month since he started developing his own game. That part was kept a secret between him and Seungwoo, who constantly pestered him about the details. 

***

The week leading up to the Gaming Convention consisted of Jonghyun struggling to film vlogs instead of gaming content. He had to keep up with the demands of his sponsors, asking him to promote them all while attending panels and making guest appearances on other gamer channels. Thankfully, he had made enough friends over the years to be able to convincingly pull off the enthusiastic face he was donning now. After hours of filming the major LA Area, going for a taste tour of the city with Ong, and going shopping for Nendroids that Jonghyun had located in some weird looking hole-in-the-wall type of comic bookstore. It was actually really nice on the inside, and full of Nendroids that Jonghyun had never seen before. 

On Friday, Jonghyun had woken up feeling a little under the weather. A terrible feeling creeping up on him, giving him bouts of anxiety. He looked sick, Seungwoo patted his lower back as he asked him what he needed. Jonghyun just shook his head, saying he was probably just nervous and that he would be okay. Public speaking was absolutely not his favorite thing. Funny, given his job. 

At exactly 1:50 PM, Jonghyun was set up, his hands shaking as Ong handed him his water bottle full of Emergen-C, and waited backstage. He could hear the roar of his viewers (he still wasn’t used to calling them fans) filing into Hall C, the biggest hall in the venue. A part of him was actually really proud of that; he had never hoped to have a big enough following to ever be able to attend a convention, let alone be one of the bigger names present. Another part of him was just plain nervous. 

Sighing, Jonghyun looked to Ong, who was smiling at him encouragingly, holding a box full of dollar store permanent markers and the first box of mini-posters the venue was providing for everyone who paid to be here. 

This was his very first fan-sign, he had no idea what he was doing. Jonghyun was truly out of his depth and just wanted to get through with it. His panel was supposed to be two hours long, the first 30 minutes was just a quick introduction to Jonghyun, a few questions and then went straight into the fan-sign. It was easier said than done, as the fans got louder and louder, scaring Jonghyun a bit, but reminding him that he had to smile and look the part. 

It was a little odd. He hadn’t thought about how the Q&A section could go, but being asked personal questions was something he did expect. 

_ “Are you dating anyone?” _ was at the top of his list. 

Smiling, Jonghyun just smiled and said “No, I just finished college and am currently working on a very important project, so I haven’t really bothered.” His fans began to get rowdy at his answer. 

_ “New project? Like a collab or something else entirely? Also, I love you!!”  _

Jonghyun smiled.  _ Crap. I slipped up.  _

“A totally new project. I can’t really talk about it quite yet, sorry!! And, I love you too~” Jonghyun hoped he sounded charming enough to be able to convince the audience to drop it (they did). 

Soon enough, Ong was at his side, and Jonghyun felt his shoulders release the heavy tension he was holding in. “Thanks, bro.” Ong smiled, giving him a thumbs up and some more water. “You’ve got this! Relax a little. I’ll be right here!” For as much as Jonghyun liked to pretend that Ong was annoying, he was actually his best friend and was deeply glad that he was here with him. 

At first, the time seemed to go by slowly; each person would say something nice about Jonghyun, smiling at him, reaching for his hands or asking for high-fives. He would do so, thank them all with a smile and a tiny personalized message on their poster before signing and watching them walk away before doing it all over again. Every now and then, however, people would bring him small gifts. Technically, Jonghyun wasn’t supposed to be taking gifts, but if they were really small, he would allow it. There was only so much he could take back home. Seungwoo brought in a big box after he had begun to notice the gifts begging to pile up on the table. 

And then it happened. Right as Seungwoo was organizing the smaller gifts to make more room for more, a man with tattoos and black curly hair came up to Jonghyun, a small gift and a soft blush across his face. Seungwoo knew, right then, that he had to watch. 

The man in front of Jonghyun looked intimidating, his shoulders were broad, he had muscular arms and pectorals. His ears were adorned with a constellation of earrings and Jonghyun found himself staring with his mouth wide open, a shocked sound coming from him as the man in front of him bowed slightly, whether it was out of nerves or custom, Jonghyun didn’t know or care. He was hot. 

The man’s voice was soft, sounding like caramel when he spoke. “H-hi!! My name is Baekho… I-” the man paused as he looked up to Jonghyun. “I came from Korea! I love your channel. And you. You’re very handsome!” The man, Baekho, stammered as he pushed a small plush of a Squirtle at him, a little tag with his name and his phone number attached with a _'call me ;)'_ scribbled in nearly incomprehensible writing. The man smiled as Jonghyun accepted the gift. “Bugi.” He said. Jonghyun broke out into a grin, nodding. “Thank you!” he said, signing Baekho’s poster with a heart. The muscular man gasped as he saw the tiny heart doddle on his poster before being ushered away by security as he giggled to himself, a deep blush spreading across Jonghyun’s cheeks. 

More time passed before more people began to get bold with their confessions or requests. One woman, much to Jonghyun’s absolute horror, asked him to sign her baby.  _ What? I am not the one…!  _ He thought to himself as he politely declined, saying he would sign the baby’s bib instead. Another woman, who looked to be around 20 years old made a not-so-subtle suggestion that she and Jonghyun would make “cute babies”. He blushed at her wording, but otherwise got Ong to shoo her away. 

It was about five minutes later that another man, with shockingly bright blonde hair, came up to him with a giant grin on his face. “Hi! My name is Ren.” he said, winking. He also came with a gift, which was wrapped in a bright pink paper, a very clear phone number written across the front with a bunch of hearts surrounding his name. “Call me if you want a good time, sexy.” The man got his poster, brushing his hand across Jonghyun’s hand as he took it from him. “A really. Good. Time.” The beautiful man winked as he sent a kiss in Jonghyun’s direction, walking away with a slight sway to his hips, clearly trying to show Jonghyun what he meant by a good time. Seungwoo flat out laughed in the background as he took the gift in his hands, saving the number to his phone. 

“He was...cute?” He said as he placed the gift in the box. 

Jonghyun groaned. That was  _ two _ men now who were clearly hitting on him. The girls he was used to, they’re usually the most vocal on his live streams to begin with, but men? He didn’t really see much from them at all. Usually, they tended to stick to praising his gaming skills or boo-ing his tips. But sometimes, he thought as a man shorter than him with nicely done pomade-fixed hair, glasses and a surprisingly very fashionable look, came up to him, the guys can be much better at flirting than the girls. 

This man held out his hand, smiling brightly as he introduced himself as Aron. Jonghyun felt himself blush as the man held his hand confidently, but with such a soft touch that he felt himself melt a little. Now, Jonghyun didn’t really care about gender to begin with, but today the men just seemed to be on a roll. And Aron, the man talking to him in a way that seemed a little too flirty, seemed to catch on to Jonghyun’s blush. “Look, I don’t usually do this, but my family owns a restaurant nearby.” Aron handed Jonghyun a card, his phone number scribbled on the back. “You and your bodyguard here should, uh, drop by if you’re hungry for something  _ delicious _ .” Aron looked like he was biting his bottom lip, a little cringey if you asked Seungwoo, but the way he timed it made Jonghyun want to crawl into a hole and hide. This man was more bold than the one with blonde hair, he decided. 

Shaking off the flirting and the feeling of hunger, Jonghyun looked at his watch. Twenty minutes left and about sixty people to get through. Jonghyun was beginning to get antsy again as he caught eyes with a tall man in the near back, who was obviously swaying his arms back and forth as he waited with a small smile on his lips, matching his sharp eyes, making him look like he knew a secret no one else did. Jonghyun immediately felt a pang in his stomach, thought ‘ _ cute’ _ and went back to signing posters. 

The signing went on a little longer than the time had allowed, only a few people lingering back trying their absolute hardest to avoid the end of the event. 

And the tall guy was still here. 

Jonghyun was a little lost for words. He had noticed him a while back, sure but he didn’t remember him being  _ that _ far back. Now, it looked like the tall man was bowing slightly at everyone behind him and letting them pass him up. He didn’t really know why, but the taller man made him feel nervous.

“That guy looks desperate to go last.” Ong said under his breath, trying his absolute hardest not to laugh out right. “I think he has a crush.” 

Jonghyun blushed, whispering a quick ‘ _ shut up!’  _ before turning back to the little girl and her even younger brother who were looking up at him with big bright eyes. They looked shocked that Jonghyun was real and he couldn’t help himself, he cooed and reached back into the box to look for any doubles of a gift. After making sure there wasn’t anything written on the gifts, he signed them and handed one each to his tiny fans. They screamed in happiness and Jonghyun flinched at the pitch in their voices. “Have fun!!” he smiled as they walked away, giggling and squeezing their gifts. 

After they were gone, Jonghyun stared at the tall man who stood in the back this entire time. The tall man smiled at Jonghyun, his eyes sparkling like he had been scheming some kind of plan to whisk him away. That was probably just wishful thinking. Maybe this guy was just some creep and Jonghyun was falling for an act. 

The tall man finally came face to face with Jonghyun. He lifted his arm from behind him and placed a small gift bag on the table. “Uh…” Jonghyun started, but was quickly interrupted by the tall man breaking out into an even bigger grin. 

“My name is Minhyun.” He held out his hand for Jonghyun to take it. “I’m so happy to formally meet you, Jonghyun!” 

Jonghyun honestly felt his entire body squeeze in a way that made him dizzy. Something about this guy’s voice was just… enticing. He was sure he was blushing if the way that Minhyun lifted an eyebrow was any indication. 

“Uh, yeah! Hi!!” Jonghyun flinched slightly at the way his voice raised an octave. “Thank you for coming!” he continued. Minhyun smiled as he began to lean forward towards Jonghyun. 

“You’re a lot more handsome than on screen. Of course you are though. You’re perfect.” Minhyun whispered in a way that seemed more to himself than to Jonghyun. He could feel his cheeks heating up, his ears were probably red by now. “I- what?”

Minhyun blinked. “Oh, I didn’t think I said that out loud. My apologies.” 

Jonghyun couldn’t help it. This guy sounded like he was trying too hard to not seem like some kind of try-hard and yet, he did. “Apologies? For what?”

Minhyun stumbled a bit. “Well. I said… well, I guess I didn’t say anything wrong. Just the truth. You are  _ very _ handsome.” 

Jonghyun smiled, all the blood in his body rushing to his face, the urge to hide behind his hands growing per second. “So I’ve been told. What makes your compliment any different?” His own voice came out more inviting than he had thought it would. 

Minhyun’s eyes sparkled as he got the hint that Jonghyun may actually be flirting back. “Well, I’m sure not everyone is as handsome as  _ me. _ ” 

Jonghyun smiled. “You’re right. There were a few others today though. And all of them flirted as hard as you did.” Minhyun’s smile faltered. “The guy with the tattoos? Maybe?”    


Jonghyun snorted. “Yeah. He was hot.” 

Seungwoo, who Jonghyun had forgotten was even there, snorted. “God, you two suck at this” he whispered. 

Jonghyun blushed deeply then. “Look, I don’t  _ date _ my viewers. But thank you for the compliments.” 

Minhyun smiled again. This time he took the chance to lean forward and place his hands on the table. His face mere inches from Jonghyun’s. “Who said anything about dating?” Minhyun glanced down at the gift bag still in front of Jonghyun. “Hope you like it.” He tapped the gift bag, as he bit his bottom lip and walked away. “See you on your live streams.”

Jonghyun peeked into the bag. It was a mini version of a game that he used to love playing with his roommates. Jonghyun’s heart raced harder than before. 

* * *

Jonghyun walked to Ong’s car in a daze, gripping onto the bags of goodies he had bought for himself as Seungwoo chatted away, poking fun at Jonghyun’s suitors. 

“Jju?” 

Jonghyun snapped out of it. “Huh?”

“You’ve been quiet this entire time.” Seungwoo stopped as they reached his car. “Are you still feeling sick?” Jonghyun shook his head. “No, just tired. And hungry.” 

Seungwoo nodded. “Let’s find some food then, yeah?” Jonghyun nodded, his smile slowly re-appearing. “Yeah.” 

Minhyun’s eyes were invading his thoughts. Jonghyun had never seen eyes as pretty as his. He’d also never been as agitated by one person as he was charmed by one person with his small encounter. He didn’t even know his last name. 

Seungwoo looked up nearby restaurants before picking one at random based on the highest reviews. It looked like a traditional Korean BBQ place and Ong was starving. “Lets go!” 

Entering the restaurant, they were hit with the smell of homemade kimchi and immediately both men felt their stomachs growl. They sat near the back corner, enjoying the drama that was on the screen, laughing when the main character stumbled over his own two feet trying to impress his leading woman. Their food was brought out to them along with their drinks. “You look awfully familiar,” the girl serving them said. “I feel like I’ve met you before?” 

Jonghyun shook his head. “Don’t think so, we’re from out of town.” The girl nodded, leaning down to turn on their table grill. “Hmm, i swear I’ve seen you somewhere before. But if you’re really from out of town, then I guess not. Can I get you two anything else?” She said, using her best customer service face. 

“We’ll let you know, thank you.” Seungwoo said. The girl nodded and walked back to the kitchen. “People in LA are weird. But maybe she has seen you. You are kind of famous, after all!” Seungwoo mused as he began to throw the meat on the grill, waiting for Jonghyun to pick his own meat. 

“Who knows. She might be one of my viewers, but she would know my face for sure if she was.” Jonghyun shrugged as he threw on some specialty beef on the grill. 

“Bugi-san?” A voice boomed throughout the restaurant. 

_ Oh, god. I just wanted food!! _ He thought as he looked up and met eyes with Aron. “Oh, my god. I was kind of joking when I said you should stop by but, oh, wow. Please, let me know if you need anything!!” 

Jonghyun smiled as he began to stuff piping hot beef into his mouth to avoid speaking to the handsome man. “MMhhm!!” he nodded. 

Aron smiled brightly, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons, slight dimples forming at his cheeks. “Hello!” he waved at Seungwoo. 

Seungwoo winked at Aron before turning to Jonghyun. 

“What are the odds?” He laughed. 

Jonghyun smacked him. “Oh shut up, you absolutely did this on purpose!!” Seungwoo cackled. “So what if I did! You need some happiness in your life that isn’t just video games, Jju!! Lighten up!! At least this one looks like he has money.” 

Jonghyun laughed. “Ong.  _ I _ have money. But you’re paying! Because  _ this _ is some new bullshit on your end.”

Ong shook his head. “I’ll pay for your food for the next  _ week _ if you get a boyfriend.” 

Jonghyun choked on his drink, a fire burning in his face and stomach. 

“Fine.” 

He finished his drink, got up and walked over to the counter. “Can I talk to Aron please?”

The girl who had brought them their food nodded, going to the kitchen and yelling for Aron to come out.

Aron emerged, his face a little red, an apron around his tiny waist.  _ Why is his waist so tiny? And why is he wearing an apron? _

“You cook?” Jonghyun asked dumbly. 

Aron wiped his hands on the apron. “Yeah, I take over for my mom when she needs a break. Can I help you?”

Jonghyun felt his stomach flutter.  _ He helps his mom _ . “Any other skills you have that you didn’t mention earlier?”

Aron’s eyes widened when he realized that Jonghyun was flirting. “O-oh! Um, actually, yes.” He turned to face the girl at the counter. “Hannah, can you take over in the kitchen for a bit?” The girl rolled her eyes, eventually extending her hand for the apron. “You owe me so bad for this, bro.” Jonghyun smiled at her. “Thank you.” She nodded, her smile much more genuine now. “Do not mess this up, Aron!”

Aron blushed at his sister’s words. “I’m sorry about her. She can be a bit of a pain. But then again, all siblings are!” he giggled nervously, hoping he didn’t mess up his chance with his favorite gamer.

Seungwoo gawked as Jonghyun brought Aron over to their table. “Seungwoo, this is Aron. Aron, Seungwoo. You can just call him rat for all I care. He’s my best friend and pseudo-manager. You met him earlier.” Aron nodded, shaking Seungwoo’s hand. “Nice to see you again!” 

Seungwoo just nodded and went back to chewing his food before answering a quick, “Uh-huh!!” 

Aron blinked, not entirely sure what to do with that response. “So, uh. How long will you be staying in LA?” 

Jonghyun shook his head slowly. “We leave tomorrow afternoon. But I still have some time to hang out. Without the security.” Aron nodded, excitement clear on his face. “How about we go somewhere after this, then?” Jonghyun nodded. “Yeah. Take me to one of those cool ice cream places, I think I’m in the mood for something  _ sweet. _ ” He said, catching the way that Aron’s face froze for a quick second before he stuttered out an “Anything for you.” 

* * *

Seungwoo blanched at the scene before him, his voice carrying out before he could help himself. “Who  _ are you?” _ he directed it at Jonghyun, fully not understanding what had gotten into his long-time friend. Sure, he had challenged him, but he wasn’t actually all that serious! Not when Seungwoo had already made up his mind with who he wanted his friend to end up with. That was the entire point of inviting Minhyun to the event, anyway. So he tried again. Reaching for his phone, and Jonghyun’s he shared locations on their devices both so he could know where Jonghyun would be taken and so that he could send the location to Minhyun. 

It sounded a little pushy, sure, but Seungwoo was determined to get Jonghyun to fall for his colleague and friend, Minhyun. Jonghyun didn’t know it yet, but Minhyun was already fully in love with the shorter and quieter man. Jonghyun, with his terrible memory and horrible habit of forgetting people’s faces, especially the faces of people his old housemates brought over, didn’t seem to recognize Minhyun at all. Maybe it was the blonde hair, or the fact that Minhyun had magically grown eyebrows over the last few years. Or the fact that Minhyun was a little less outwardly dorky and loud and more confident in himself and dressed less like a 17 year old skater boy. 

Either way, Seungwoo decided that it wasn’t that hard for Jonghyun to have forgotten what Minhyun looked like, or the fact that they had all gotten absolutely gassed at a party thrown by their eldest housemate, Matthew. The party (and the extremely sweet liquor that someone had brought) had made everyone lose their tightly wound inhibitions, leading to one of the loudest nights of their lives. 

It was also the first time Minhyun and Jonghyun had met.

Seungwoo remembers everything perfectly fine, if not for the sheer comedy of his two friends getting so drunk they began to dance on top of the kitchen table and counter, screaming names of Pokemon at each other as if they were having a real battle. And if that wasn’t enough reason for Seungwoo to remember the party, the five rounds of Twister sure was. At first everyone was just trying to figure out how comfortable they were with playing the game. Two rounds later had Minhyun leaning over Alice and under Matthew as Jonghyun tried to squeeze his way under them all in an attempt to get his left leg past them all to the closest red dot he could reach. Unfortunately for him, that meant he had to twist in a way that made his sock slip on the game board, knocking into Minhyun’s already wobbly leg, and toppling everyone over except Matthew, who cheated by grabbing onto the wall. 

Laughter erupted as Matthew helped Alice up, leading her to the kitchen for some quiet time. Jonghyun however, remained on the floor, a surprisingly heavy stranger he had just met still laying on top of him, their eyes locked on one another. Seungwoo didn’t miss the deep blush on their faces as Daniel screamed for another round of shots, shocking the two on the floor out of their stupor. 

Weeks after that, it was Minhyun who finally brought up the party. And how he was absolutely smitten with his roommate. How he couldn’t get him out of his head but he was too shy to do anything about it. Ever since then, Seungwoo took every opportunity to invite him over, hoping Jonghyun would notice Minhyun, only for the gamer to be stuck in his own little world, editing, gaming, studying. 

Eventually Minhyun had moved out to LA, having transferred universities in order to be able to take up a guaranteed job right after college. 

* * *

Minhyun had gotten Seungwoo’s text, honestly the thought of meeting Jonghyun like this seemed a little off, but he couldn’t help himself. Since he saw him that afternoon, Minhyun couldn’t shake off the feeling he had in his stomach as he thought about the cute man he’d basically been in love with for years. The fact that he knew Jonghyun would be here with another man, also didn’t do much to ease his nerves about showing up here, at all. 

Soon enough, he saw the figures of two men coming out of the ice cream parlor. It was now or never. He walked right up to them, not having a single plan other than  _ talk to him _ . Lost in his thoughts, Minhyun hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going, slamming straight into the shorter of the two men, causing him to drop his drink. 

Minhyun startled.  _ Damn. Not the plan, not the plan. Do something, quick! _ “I-- Oh, god. I am so, so sorry!” He scooped down to pick up the drink on the floor as the guy Jonghyun was with laughed. 

“Oh, no worries. No use in crying over spilled milk!” he smiled. Minhyun felt bad now as he looked between the two men. Recognition flashing in Jonghyun’s eyes. 

“Oh! Hey, I know you!!” He all but yelled, excitement in his voice. “You’re the dude from earlier! What are the chances I’d meet you again?” Jonghyun asked, smiling hard. 

“Not very many, that’s for sure.” Minhyun replied, moving to scratch the back of his head as he smiled, his eyes crinkling into half moons as he felt Jonghyun stare at him. 

A cough interrupted their small talk. “Ah, hm. I’m Aron.” he held out his hand. “Minhyun.” he replied. 

Both men turned to look at Jonghyun then, a blank look on his face as he stared at Minhyun. He could feel his stomach doing somersaults as he watched the wheels in Jonghyun’s mind begin to spin as he stared. His eyes squinted, his head tilted to one side as he pursed his lips before his eyes shot wide open in recognition. 

“You're the asshole who crushed me with his entire body at Seungwoo’s party all those years ago, aren’t you!” Jonghyun laughed. “Holy crap. It’s been  _ years _ !” And suddenly, Jonghyun stopped in his thoughts, their earlier encounter rushing into his mind.  _ Handsome. Perfect. _ An obnoxious and mocking laugh that he was beginning to remember from all those years ago. All the flirting that Minhyun had done when he had been around his apartment. 

Jonghyun closed his mouth and turned a furious shade of red. “I remember you now.” 

Minhyun smiled. Aron looked uncomfortable. Jonghyun wanted to hide under a rock. 

A loud ringing broke the awkward silence that had settled over the three men. Aron was the first to move, realizing it was his ringtone, and answering his phone. “Yeah? Okay, yeah I’ll head back.” 

Aron hung up, his face turning into something resembling a disheartened puppy. Sighing, he stuck a hand out to Jonghyun. “I uh… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but, I have to go. There’s some rowdy customers and my sisters had to call the cops.” Jonghyun looked sad, like he wanted to apologize for the weird tension in the air around them, but instead smiled at Aron, took his hand and nodded. “It was really nice hanging out with you, Aron. And thank you for the food.” 

Aron nodded, tilting his head towards Minhyun as he spoke, “Maybe next time the timing will be better, Bugi.” 

Jonghyun nodded, getting the hint but otherwise not saying anything. 

***

Walking side by side, Minhyun didn’t dare look up at Jonghyun. “I’m sorry I ruined what was probably a really nice date with a really good dude.” 

Jonghyun nodded, thinking. “It’s too bad Ong isn’t here to see how this all panned out. I’m positive this was all him. I remember him bringing you around a lot back when we lived together.” 

Minhyun couldn’t reply. He was shocked Jonghyun even remembered any of that. Smirking, Jonghyun shrugged. “I was busy and focusing on other things. I didn’t want to get involved with anyone or anything even close to a relationship back then. I’m not even entirely sure I want one now. But I  _ do _ remember the way you would linger around my room, ask questions and sometimes, if you had enough soju, would let slip some, erm, interesting suggestions.” 

Minhyun groaned and slapped his hands over his face. “I am  _ so _ sorry for whatever I said back then. Oh,  _ g o d. _ ” 

Jonghyun burst into laughter. “It’s fine. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy it. I just didn't know how to flirt back, and by the time I even really realized you were  _ flirting _ with me on  _ purpose  _ you had already moved away,  _ Hwang. _ ” 

Snorting at Minhyun’s reaction, he went on, “I didn’t even know your first name because Ong never called you Minhyun. Just Hwang.” 

That was all it took. Minhyun felt his heart burst. He was so happy that he forgot all impulse control and scooped Jonghyun up, his frozen cup of goodies falling to the ground as he was spun around like a rag doll by an overgrown Labrador. 

As he felt his feet hit the ground, he looked up into Minhyun’s captivating eyes. The butterflies in his stomach bursting forward and out, lifting his heart and making him feel dizzy in a way that made him feel like this was how everything was meant to be. 

“Let’s get you home?” Minhyun asked, his eyes twinkling with what Jonghyun thought was adoration. Jonghyun smiled, pressing a kiss to Minhyun’s cheek. “Buy me ice cream first.” 


End file.
